Pennsylvania Governor to Propose Rewrite of State Dog Law and New Proposed Dog Law Regulations

On December 19 representatives of the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Pennsylvania Federation of...

On December 19 representatives of the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs met with officials representing Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's office and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at their request to discuss a broad rewrite of Pennsylvania's dog law and implementing kennel regulations. The Governor's spokesman indicated the Governor wants to introduce the new legislation soon after the Pennsylvania legislature reconvenes in late January, 2008. The Governor's office is reaching out to a broad cross section of animal interest groups before introducing his new proposals in hopes of avoiding the near unanimous opposition to proposed dog law regulatory amendments that were proposed by the Governor in December, 2006.

The proposal would constitute the most comprehensive rewrite of the Pennsylvania Dog Law since its enactment in 1982. According to the Governor's spokesman, the new proposals address many of the criticisms and suggestions made in more than 60,000 written comments that were filed on the earlier proposed regulatory amendments. The new proposals are in still in draft form, and are being distributed to interest groups on the condition that they not be made public at this time. The AKC and PA Federation agreed to review the drafts and provide input, but will take no position on the proposals until final language is agreed upon and publicly released.